Quinoa Breakfast Porridge
OMG! Can I just tell you it's 1:15am right now and I can't sleep. I had a helping of my chocolate chia seed pudding mousse (made with stevia only for my cleanse) at 7:30pm, and I completely forgot about the "gentle" stimulating effects raw cacao powder can have; especially when your body is sensitive from being absolutely clean of caffeine and coffee. Holy wide eyes Batman! I feel like I've been given speed, except I've never been given speed so really I don't even know what I'm talking about. Except I don't have that weird jittery/sick feeling you get when you drink caffeine because like I said, it's "gentle". I feel more like I've been sleeping for two months and and am now rendereed absolutely and completely incapable of it. I could leap buildings with a single bound. While laying in bed trying to coax the sleep out, I planned the same tapas menu 64 times in a row because my mind was stuck on it like I kept hitting replay. Finally I was like enough you evil mind, so I came downstairs. Now I am sitting on the couch watching A Baby Story because that's what 4 1/2 month pregnant women do, and now I'm unloading on you. Thanks for staying up with me. Turns out you are stellar company.
As long as were discussing my current "condition", can I just say that after being pregnant four times I can absolutely say that each and every pregnancy is completely different. You think you know what to expect and then BAM!, you don't have sciatic nerve pain but instead get reoccuring muscle cramps or aching across your abdomininon which makes you walk like the pregnant ladies in movies but not how pregnant ladies walk in real life. You know, that sort of waddle like it pains you to be carrying this load around for so long? I used to watch people do that and wonder what in the heck was going on. I have never, never even felt the slightest stomach/muscle discomfort with any of my other babies. I could have picked anything up and hauled it around, even when I was past due. Now? I go to lift the mattress up to put fresh sheets on the bed and it's like I almost literally can't do it. Jeremy is the sweetest man ever, but he sometimes sees stuff like this and looks at me very puzzled, like he can't figure out if I'm kidding or not. I know honey, I am wondering the same thing. Like, what. the. hell?
Also, the flu has been running rampant over here. At one point Jeremiah was feeling so bad that he asked his dad to feed him a grapefruit "like a baby". It was really cute. I did, however, have to take three pictures before I finally got one with Jeremy's mouth closed.
It is now 1:45am, I thought you should know.
Do you remember Beavis and Butthead? There was one summer where my Mom and I would watch that (which is freaking hilarious if you knew us - totally unexpected- and for the record, I would never watch that now. But I was 16 and didn't know better. MTV was all the rage. I have no idea why my mom watched it.) Anyhow, we'd watch Beavis and Butthead while eating sliced cucumbers with lemon and a Mexican chili salt and then we'd watch Singled Out with Jenny McCarthy because we were super classy back then.
Well, that was a fun memory. This cacao is making me ramble all sorts of randomness and you have to understand that I am trying really, really hard to try and tie Quinoa Breakfast Porridge in here somehow, someway, but I'm not finding it. I don't think I have the will to find it at this point. I have no idea what I'll type when I sit down to write this blog. Seriously, never do I have a game plan. Honesty is always the best policy.
So, here's the long and short of it. Quinoa porridge is dang good. It requires two steps but each are no big deal. First you'll make a flavored spiced milk with yummy spices like cardamom and cinnamon. This way, when you cook your quinoa in it, the grains will puff up and absorb all that deliciousness. In the end, you'll have a bowl full of gently flavored soul-warming tender quinoa, very slightly sweetened and ready to be dressed however you like. I ate mine with delicious little blueberries and sliced almonds, but I think Jeremy liked his with just a little brown sugar which made it all the cozier. We make a lot of steel cut oatmeal in the winter, but this is a welcome and nutritious addition to shake things up. Watch out though, this is a very filling breakfast. You won't be able to eat as big a bowl as you'd think.
Two AM and I'm still awake writing this post, if I get it all down on paper it's no longer inside of me, threatening the life it belongs to. And...breathe. Just breathe. Hey, true story, Jeremy's friend from high school married the girl who sings that song. If you don't think you know that song, I firmly disagree. Everyone knows that song.
Is it bedtime yet? Ugh. I wish I had this porridge to wake up to.
Quinoa Porridge
adapted from Good To The Grain, by Kim Boyce
serves 6
Spiced Milk:
1 cup heavy cream (I used coconut milk)
1 cup whole milk (you can make this vegan by using vanilla almond milk)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
8 cardamom pods
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Quinoa:
1 cup quinoa
1/3 cup currants (optional)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Toppings:
Blueberries or strawberries
Sliced almonds
Brown sugar
To make the spiced milk, smash the cardamom pods with the back of a pan or side of a knife. In a small saucepan, combine cream, milk, spices, brown sugar, and salt. Bring the mixture to boil, immediately turn the heat off, and leave the milk to steep, about 20 minutes.
Using a fine mesh strainer or sieve, rinse quinoa under cold water to remove any bitter residue. Place 2 cups of water, the quinoa, currants, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the quinoa is tender and tails spiral out of grains, 12-15 minutes. move the pan to a cooler spot on the stove and cover with a lid.
Strain the spiced milk into the quinoa without pressing the mixture in the strainer, so as to avoid any sediment passing through. Bring the porridge to a boil over medium flame and simmer until the pudding has thickened slightly, about 4 minutes.
Divide the porridge evenly among 6 bowls and, if desired, top each bowlful with toppings.